


Childhood Lost

by Chris_White



Series: Rise of the Contractors [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Coran is Kono, Darker than Black characters, Gay Keith (Voltron), Hunk is Mao, Keith (Voltron)-centric, Keith is Hei, Lance is Misaki, Lance is a goddamned professional, Lance wants to protect people, Lotor is Huang, M/M, Minor Character Death, Narti is Yin, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Pidge is Kanami, Sendak is Yoshimitsu Horai, Shiro is mentioned, Thace is Matsumoto, The world is a mess, Ulaz is Saito, Voltron in the Darker than Black universe, broganes, just the beginnings, keith and shiro are brothers, keith is a bamf, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 07:26:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14910977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chris_White/pseuds/Chris_White
Summary: Keith is assigned another mission that involves the Gate. He hopes that it will lead him to information involving his missing brother. Instead, it takes a disturbing turn and stirs up long-buried memories.Lance’s day is going all right until an explosion rocks Tokyo. Then it’s a race to identify and locate the person whose star has just appeared in the sky before things get even worse.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Voltron/Darker than Black AU. You don’t need to know either show for this story to make sense. While this story follows the episodes three and four of Darker than Black pretty closely, this series doesn’t strictly stick to either show’s storyline, and blends elements of both.
> 
> This story is lazily set in Tokyo, as that’s where Darker than Black is set. I thought it might come off as pretentious if I used -kun, -san, -chan, etc., especially since I don’t know the subtleties of their use, so while I’ve kept many names and locations that's pretty much it. 
> 
> Thanks to @closetgeekasaurus for the beta. :)

Keith carried his wet laundry up from the building's washer and dryer. He had enough spare clothes that he hadn't bothered drying anything, content to hang them up as an excuse to make sure no one was lurking around out back. As he hung the clothes from the bar above his balcony, he subtly made note of the authorities' observer spirits traveling along the power lines. Looking directly at them would be a mistake. Only contractors and dolls could see them so he'd out himself immediately.

Since he had nothing else to do, he began making his breakfast next. The fridge held a lot of eggs and he realized he was low on vegetables. He had just enough for gyeran mari, though. Just thinking of the dish brought memories to the surface.

 

_His father leaned back against the kitchen counter. "Since I'll be out of the house more soon, I've been teaching Shiro how to cook but he doesn't really care about flavor, just fueling his body."_

_Keith wrinkled his nose. "I want stuff that tastes good, but I'm only seven. I can't cook!"_

_Their father patted his head. "But you can help. I'm sure he'd be glad not to have to do all the work on his own, and you'd get to make sure there's meals you like."_

_Chewing his lip, Keith considered, then gave his father the stink eye. "You're trying to trick me into doing chores."_

_Their father's laugh made him feel warm inside. There hadn't been a lot of laughter in the house since Shiro became a contractor and their mother left. Keith sighed. Learning to cook sounded better than sweeping the porch, at least. "Okay."_

_"All right! Then let's get started." Their father scooped Keith up, making him giggle. "What should we make?"_

_"Gyeran mari!" Keith suddenly felt like a genius. Now he'd get his favorite rolled omelette for lunch._

_"Sounds good. You can help me prep and then I'll make and roll the omelette." Their father set him down and then the two of them started gathering ingredients. When Keith found out he got to use a real knife, he grinned even wider. Maybe this would be a good day after all._

 

The flood of joy that came with the memory almost brought him to his knees. He leaned against the counter, panting as he waited for his heart to stop erratically pounding. Somehow when this happened, it always felt like a slap. He'd get too comfortable with being an emotional contractor and feeling almost human, then memories like this steamrolled him, making it clear just how muted his existence was once the feelings cleared.

Keith frowned and re-focused on cooking. Nothing seemed to have burned, at least. At times like this, having an ability was like a drug. All he had to do in order to numb himself was to zap something. There was no rational reason -- outside of "feeling bad" -- to use his ability and risk someone seeing, however. He needed this cover to last long-term.

Once his food was ready, Keith sighed and dished it out. He'd barely managed to sit down when a meow from the open window drew his attention. He glanced over to see a distinctive siamese cat with unusual yellow eyes. That would be Hunk, then, probably with an assignment.

Keith looked longingly at his breakfast, set down his chopsticks, then walked to the window. He settled on the sill and reached out toward the cat as though enticing it to him, wondering if anyone ever noticed that the bell on its yellow collar never actually rang. "Have something for me?"

"There's a scientist they need you to check out." Hunk leaned in and sniffed his fingers, then sat and began to groom. "We need to know what exactly his research is and how far he's gotten on it. I'll give you the information and then you can pick up what you need from Narti."

"Got it. Wait here." Keith stood and grabbed a piece of chicken from his plate. "A tip for the delivery."

He held it out to Hunk, who took it, and started purring. "You're a good cook."

"You're better." Keith almost smiled. It was hard to not like Hunk.

The siamese purred louder. "Flatterer."

Once the cat bounded off, Keith quickly ate his breakfast. He considered tossing the dishes to soak in the sink, but rationality won, so he stayed long enough to wash them. The last time he'd failed to do so ended up in a month-long assignment and new life evolving in his kitchen. Not something he wanted to deal with for a long-term cover.

After he finished he finally geared up. With his loose jacket covering everything, he grabbed the trash, figuring he may as well make sure it didn't rot in the apartment if he was gone too long. He politely greeted some neighbors as he walked down the stairs, and then as he turned the final corner, found the landlady holding a wriggling cat by the scruff. A very familiar cat.

"Well, isn't that admirable?" she said, gesturing with the broom in her other hand. "Taking out the garbage the same morning? If only everyone followed the rules like you do, Akira."

Hunk shot him a pleading look. Fixing a curious look on his face, Keith approached. "What's with the cat?"

She lifted the toward him. "I've seen this siamese cat around a lot lately. I'm sure this is the guy who's getting into the trash at night."

It was hard not to laugh at the offended expression on Hunk's feline face. Keith didn't know it was even possible for a cat to make that look.

Keith leaned in, cocking his head. "Is that right? Naughty little critter, huh?"

"I'll bet someone's been giving him food," she grumbled. "You should watch yourself, too. Pets aren't allowed here, after all."

"Right." He wondered if people had been complaining about the cat visiting his balcony. They'd have to be more careful.

"Off to school?"

"No, to work." Keith carried the bag toward the trash drop-off out front.

"It's not some disreputable job, right?"

_Yup._ He chuckled. "Of course not! Um, I'm going to be late, so ..."

"Oh yeah?" She suddenly grinned, lifting the cat and staring at it. "Come to think of it, back in your country, don't they eat anything with four legs, except for maybe desks?"

The cat stared up at her in shock. After a moment of grinding his teeth, Keith forced himself not to sound annoyed at the assumption. "I've never eaten one, myself, but maybe he'd taste good."

Hunk hissed at him, his eyes narrowing. If a cat could sweat, Keith was pretty sure the siamese would be sweating buckets. He was sure he'd pay for the comment later but he just couldn't resist.

Once he turned to leave, chaos erupted behind him, the cat yowling and freaking out and the old lady yowling back. Chuckling, Keith meandered through the city. He stopped here and there as though he was running errands, all the while checking to see if he was being followed. Once he felt sure that he wasn't, he headed to the little corner cigarette stand the team used to pass information. Inside waited Narti in a purple and peach dress. As usual, she wore opaque dark glasses and barely moved, her stillness alone marking her as a potential doll to anyone who knew more than the average human.

"Bat," he said, asking for that specific brand of cigarettes as Lotor had instructed.

Without looking up, she lifted a plastic card that said "140 Yen." It had taken Keith a while to realize that her telepathy wasn't just for missions. Narti apparently couldn't physically see or speak. Her observer spirit served as her eyes instead.

He slid exact change across the counter. She offered the requested cigarettes in return and slid a watch across with them. He picked both up and moved on, discarding the pack a few blocks later. Some chain smoker would get a free nicotine hit.

Apparently his target was a Dr. Tahara. The name sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place it. Time to see what kind of work he could find nearby the man's office, which shouldn't be difficult. A lot of people left the city after Hell's Gate appeared, and even more after the government began building the giant wall to hide it, dwarfing even the tallest buildings. The place was still quite populated but employers needing lower-skilled workers had a hard time finding people.

All the better for him.

#

It was Keith's lucky day. There was a position open in the factory and warehouses where Dr. Tahara kept his office. He'd only been there half a workday when the manager approached.

"Akira, could you take this to the outbuilding for me?"

Time to play dumb. "The outbuilding?"

"You know, that place in front of the office, where Consultant Tahara is."

"Consultant?" Keith supposed he should wonder why people always believed his innocent bean act. "That makes him a bigshot, doesn't it?"

The manager put his hand on his hip. "Well, I don't know about that. He's always holed up in there, and he doesn't appear to go home, but I've got no idea what kind of work he does."

Great, no information from this guy, then. Keith was surprised when he continued.

"They say he was once a great scholar, though. Before he came here, I heard he did some kind of questionable research overseas. Remember how there was that initial investigative team to Hell's Gate?"

Keith perked.

"One story says he's a survivor of that."

Oh yes, it was definitely Keith's lucky day. "Of the investigative team?"

"All the rumors say that his soul got drained out of him inside the Gate. Well, I don't know if that's true or not. Enough gossip. He'll want that package." The manager waved him off.

The Gate. Keith tried not to get his hopes up. It took concentration for him to look bored as he approached the consultant's office and knocked. "Consultant, I have a delivery for you."

His only answer was silence, so he tried again. "Consultant Tahara?"

"It's open."

Keith barely heard the gruff voice. He opened the door and entered. The place was a mess. Boxes of books were everywhere. "Um, the factory manager said to give this to you."

At least the man's watch was easy to spot on the desk. The mess made it easy to "trip" nearby. Keith offered apologies for knocking books off of the offending box, then switched watches while he helped the doctor straighten up.

With one aspect of the mission done, Keith took a moment to examine the doctor himself. It was easy to understand the rumor about the man losing his soul in the Gate. Dr. Tahara was scruffy, barely spoke, and looked so dour he could depress a contractor. The man sat on a couch to open his package while Keith lingered, noting that every book in the place was about flowers, plants, or gardening.

"Aren't you paid by the hour?" the doctor grumbled. "If you're done here, get back to work."

"Right." Keith smiled sheepishly and left, pondering what little he'd learned. With all of those books he'd expect more plants in the office, yet there was only a single flower in a pot. Something about it felt familiar. He'd probably seen one like it on one of his assignments.

Oh well, hopefully he'd get another chance to examine the office soon. In the meanwhile, he'd consider all the hauling stuff around as part of his workout. After all, there was something peaceful about simple, physical work.

#

A couple of days later, Keith was still moving boxes. Doing so gave him the opportunity to watch the doctor's movements, and note that it was true -- the man rarely emerged from the building.

Hunk had set up the watch to send the audio to Keith's earpiece, and he was allowed to listen to music as long as he kept one ear open to notice hazards. That policy gave him the opportunity to openly listen in on what happened in the office. Most of the noises coming out of there were frustrated grunts and groans, though. He really hoped that they were frustrated anyway, or he might need bleach for his ears.

Keith had gotten so used to the quiet that when a phone rang in his ear, he nearly dropped the box he was carrying. Again, he felt lucky. If the call had come only a minute later he'd have been driving the box to its destination. 

"Hello?" Takara answered.

"Is that you, Consultant? You have a call from the principal at the Nishitoyotama Middle School."

Keith recognized the woman's voice as the factory's receptionist. He listened to the principal curiously as he explained why he was calling. For one thing, apparently the doctor had a daughter. This was news to Keith and worth reporting, but not not quite yet. The girl stood accused of starting a trash fire.

The doctor hung up and started fumbling in his office. Keith wondered if he could get away with a search while the man was gone.

"Hey, you there!"

Keith blinked, stopping, box still in hand. That was the most animated he'd ever heard Dr. Tahara speak.

The doctor ran up to him. "Do you have a Japanese license?"

When Keith just stared at him in confusion, he added, "I'm asking if you can drive a car!"

"Uh, sure." So much for searching the office. Still, this was a chance to gather more information in another way. He'd be a fool not to take it.

#

When they reached the school, Keith was told to wait in the car. They had the man's watch was bugged so that was fine by him. While they headed inside, he crossed his arms and settled in like he was just a bored chauffeur. It was so much easier to do surveillance when he didn't have to also do something else so he didn't stand out.

Small feet thudded onto the car's hood. What did Hunk feed that cat that he was always able to show up so fast?

"Dr. Tahara's previous employers from Meyer & Hilton got to their hotel in Shinjuku thirty minutes ago. Kenneth Henderson is their leader, the company's Vice President, but he's human so he's less of a threat than Luc, the contractor sent with him. Luc's power is wind manipulation." Hunk flopped on the hood like he was just there for the warmth. "What's going on with you?"

Keith gestured to his earpiece.

"What's this man doing here?"

Keith assumed that it was the man's daughter who started complaining. She sounded too young to be part of the staff.

"While it's true that your mother took custody of you, now that your mother has passed away, you must be living with your father again, right? As such, your guardian would be ..."

Keith didn't recognize the voice of the woman that responded. He focused on learning her voice in order to crush the memory that threatened to surface. Now wasn't the time.

"I find it hard to believe," the daughter interrupted, "that someone who only comes home once a month could be a guardian!"

Keith winced. That was harsh.

He recognized the principal's voice as the man interjected. "For crying out loud, it's a good thing that the school was contacted before word of this got to the police."

"I told you, I didn't set the fire!"

"Still, the man who found you at the scene said that you were burning garbage behind the building."

"I'm not the one who was burning it! When I realized what was happening, it was already burning! Why don't you believe me?"

Instincts sent a chill shuddering down the back of Keith's neck. She could be lying. Still, there was something else that could cause that ...

No, that something else was exceedingly rare. Not possible.

"We'll be excusing ourselves now." Dr. Tahara finally spoke, still his usual gruff self even among the school staff. "We're leaving!"

The girl gasped, and from the stomping and protests from the school officials, Keith assumed they were heading for the car. He slid his hair over the earpiece when they stepped out of the building, then pulled out the keys to start the car.

Neither father nor child spoke a word when they got in. Keith supposed this was the chance to learn where the man lived in case Lotor's research turned out wrong. "Going home, Sir?"

The man grunted. "Back to the office."

How odd. Keith started the car and began driving that direction. It was rush hour so traffic was backed up for kilometers. The tension in the car built and built to the point that he became tempted to zap them just to cause _something_ to happen.

Eventually Dr. Tahara was the first to break. "Is it true? Was the garbage burning when you realized what was happening?"

His daughter didn't answer.

"Was today the first time?"

She huffed.

"Has that sort of thing been happening a lot lately?"

Apparently the doctor had the same bad feeling that Keith did. That wasn't good at all.

"Did you happen to eat something funny, or something?" she grumbled.

The doctor ignored her question. "When did it start? When did you start doing things unconsciously?"

Apparently the man felt that an interrogation was the appropriate way to deal with his distraught daughter. If things were as Keith feared, he prepared himself to leap out of the car just in case.

"This is unusual, huh?" she asked. "You talking to me?"

To Keith's shock, Tahara grabbed his daughter's arm and started pulling on it, reaching for the bandage near her wrist. Had the guy lost his mind? They struggled until she finally broke free, pressing herself against the car door.

"Don't touch me!"

The doctor went stone-faced and quiet, turning his attention ahead once again. Keith considered that perhaps he was jumping to conclusions. Certainly someone who worked that intimately with the Gate would have handled her more delicately if he suspected.

"Mai!" called a couple of schoolgirls wearing the same uniform as the daughter, easily heard thanks to the car's open windows. "What's this, you have a chauffeur? Aren't you the celebrity!"

"Are you going somewhere?" Mai called back.

Keith could see where this was heading, but he had no subtle way to intervene. He couldn't just ditch the doctor and the car in the middle of the road without breaking his cover -- or, at the very least, pissing off the guy so much that Keith lost access to learning anything else. Hopefully Hunk, Lotor, or Narti were watching and could track her.

"The usual place," one of the girls answered.

Keith sighed as Mai opened the door and got out. _And there she goes._

"It's not safe!" he called. Of course, no one listened.

The girl made it safely through traffic and to her friends. Dr. Tahara didn't even move.

Keith turned to the doctor. "Is that all right?"

"It's none of your business," the man insisted. "Hurry back to the factory."

A glance told Keith that either there was a random siamese cat wandering the city sidewalks, or Hunk was on her trail. The moment the doctor returned to his office, Keith decided he'd contact Lotor and request that he be allowed to turn his attentions to Mai and leave Hunk on the doctor. What was happening with her could have something to do with her father's research.

And worse, it could lead to disaster on a massive scale.


	2. Chapter 2

It took over an hour to get Dr. Tahara back to his office, and another before Keith could sign out of work. He'd have left earlier, but he still might need to observe the doctor later, so he couldn't lose this job. At least Hunk and Narti both kept reporting that Mai was still hanging out with her friends in their favorite cafe.

He managed to stop for food for himself -- after all, he needed fuel for his body in case things got interesting -- and nearly reached the cafe before he heard Hunk's voice in his earpiece.

"They're paying. How close are you, Keith?"

"Almost there." Keith subtly picked up his pace. The sky was just starting to turn pink with the first hints of sunset, so it was too light to go onto roofs just yet. Instead, he tailed them on a parallel street while Hunk updated him on the three girls' progress. It was so much easier not to get noticed during surveillance when you were small and furry.

"It sounds like they're splitting up," said Hunk. "You're not gonna hurt her, right? She's just a kid."

"I don't see any rational reason that I'd need to," Keith responded.

"Ah, sounds like she's going home," Hunk added.

Lotor interjected, "Dr. Tahara may live in his office, but he also has an apartment. No doubt that's where the kid lives."

 _And probably by herself_ , Keith considered. She was probably lonely.

A memory erupted before he could stop it.

 

_His father set the knife on the bed. It was in the case his mother always used. A sheath, she'd called it. "Your mother wanted you to have it, to protect yourself and your brother."_

_Keith's hands shook as he took the knife. "But ... won't mama protect us?"_

_"She had to go, kiddo." His father's voice shook. "She had to do something very important."_

 

Keith stumbled, heart pounding again. After a few deep breaths he asked Lotor to repeat the address. Having something to focus on helped shake the gut-wrenching fear faster, so he paid close attention as Hunk once again kept him up-to-date on her movements. Knowing what route they were taking allowed Keith to keep parallel to them rather than risking them seeing him.

He couldn't risk Mai recognizing him and running off. Eventually Meyer & Hilton would realize she was the best leverage against her father. Chances were too high that she'd have run-ins with their contractors, and she was just a human kid. 

The sun was down by the time she got home. Keith watched from the shadows as Mai unlocked and then opened her front door. He wasn't sure what she expected to see -- maybe her father there to scold her -- but the dark apartment upset her to the point that she locked the door and ran off in tears. Again, he followed.

"The Senior Vice President of Meyer & Hilton just called Dr. Tahara," said Lotor over his earpiece. "They really want him back to complete his research. It's fair to assume that the kid will be their next target. So far Narti hasn't found water in their hotel room, but she was able to observe their arrival so she knows what they look like. When they begin to move she'll find them."

"Got it," said Keith, focusing on the girl.

"Hunk," Lotor added, "return to the doctor's office. We need more than ears on him at the point in case he reveals anything about his research."

"On it," Hunk answered.

Since it was dark, Keith could finally use the rooftops. He followed her until she entered a music store and then dropped down into an alley where people wouldn't see. From there he slid his hands into his jacket's pockets and wandered into the store. She'd recognize him, so he stayed out of her line of sight until she pocketed a CD and tried to walk out with it.

Was Mai trying to get caught to get her father's attention? There had to have been a steady flow of teens acting out, because the clerk came after her before she could reach the door. Keith grabbed a CD of his own and began to maneuver closer. Still, he kept out of her line of sight as her CD fell out of her bag and clattered to the floor.

Mai and the clerk both stopped and stared at it. Instincts told Keith it was time to act. She may have dropped it on purpose, but if the authorities came, things would get even messier. They'd inadvertently make her an easier target.

Since Mai and the clerk were in a silent stand-off, Keith stepped over and crouched, picking up the CD. "Please ring this up with mine."

The man sheepishly agreed, but Maia frowned and stormed off. Keith let her go, shrugging and handing the clerk the CDs before following, making sure to keep his distance once again. He followed as she wandered the city. It wasn't long before she got hassled by public safety volunteers, wanting to know why she -- an obvious middle-schooler from her uniform -- was out wandering alone so late at night.

His instincts nudged him again. While the adults were focused on Mai, Keith slipped up behind her. "Excuse me." He gently put an arm around her shoulders, making sure not to pull her in too close so he wouldn't freak her out too much. "I'm her brother."

The safety volunteers watched in surprise as Keith guided her away. When she walked with him without complaint, he removed his hand from her shoulder. She sped up to put distance between them, so he let her have her space, this time openly following. Since she was lonely -- and had already seem him with her father -- and just needed to gain her trust for her own protection.

They were crossing an overpass when she finally stopped to yell at him. "Hey, stop following me!"

When Keith didn't speak, not wanting to come off even creepier than he probably was already, she continued, volume rising as she put her pain on display for him to hear. "What? Did he tell you to keep an eye on me? Then you pass this along! 'You're annoying! Leave me alone! I don't ever want to see your face! Don't ever come back home! And that I ...'"

She turned, tears streaming down her cheeks, "'... hate you.'"

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled in warning, but he was too slow to stop the memory from crashing over him.

 

_Keith wrung his hands, finding his father working on his truck. "Papa?"_

_His father slid out on the roller board he'd made for himself. He sat up and looked over Keith frantically. "Are you all right? Did something happen again?"_

_"No." Keith's voice trembled along with his body. His chest hurt from his father's CPR the other day after Shiro hurt him. Every time he saw the mark in the mirror he couldn't stop crying. "When's Mama coming back?"_

_The pain in his father's eyes was the only answer he needed. He let himself be pulled into his father's lap, feeling safer tightly wrapped in the man's arms. "I don't know, buddy. What she's doing is so important, though ..."_

_"I'm only eight and I almost died! I need my Mama!" Tears streamed down Keith's cheeks. "Doesn't she love us? She doesn't, does she?"_

_His father pulled back from Keith, looking him right in the eyes. "Of course she does. Don't doubt that for a moment. That's why ..."_

_"No!" Keith shut his eyes, hitting his father's chest over and over. "She's a liar! She never loved us! I hate her! I HATE HER!"_

 

Keith wavered on his feet, fighting desperately to keep his ability from activating as the anguish finished flaying him. When he could breathe again, frustration filled its place. Like many of the memories involving his family, this one felt wrong. Something was missing, as usual. How had Shiro hurt him? _What was his ability?_

After several moments of careful breathing, he finally returned his attention to Mai, expecting her to be gone. Instead she was still there, watching him with concern.

"Are you ... are you all right?"

Keith let out a weary chuckle, instinct and rationality agreeing that he should use this opportunity. "Yeah, sorry. Long day."

She sighed and shot him a mulish look. Showing weakness seemed to have calmed her down, and dampened her determination to get away.

He capitalized on it, managing a smile. Best to continue letting her think that her father sent him to watch over her. At least that might give her the feeling that the man actually cared. "Do you feel better now? Come on, let's get you back. I'll walk you home."

"I don't want to go home," she answered softly. "I don't want to go home to that dark, empty apartment."

That explained why she'd been so unhappy when she found the apartment dark and empty. Keith recalculated. Meyer & Hilton's people might be watching the apartment anyway. "Well, how about we goof around until morning? I could definitely use some fun."

Mai turned to him in surprise as Keith pondered what they could do. She'd been seeking excitement all night, and he needed a distraction. Time to stir things up. He remembered seeing a small amusement park and led her there. As they stood staring at its gates, she looked at him like he was an idiot.

"It's late. It's closed." Mai still sounded spent.

That would change. All of those cover jobs paid off at times. "I used to work at one. C'mon."

Keith found a spot where it wasn't that hard to get over the fence, and helped her over, her eyes wide as she hit the ground. He really hoped he wouldn't be ordered to hurt her or turn her over. She was just a troubled kid.

"It seems so scary, somehow," she whispered.

The place was mostly dark, except where the streetlights cast harsh shadows. Even the carousel with its colorful horses and other creatures looked sinister, he supposed. He took a moment to look over the park, pondering what they could use but also easily escape, and decided that a girl her age might still like riding the carousel creatures.

Keith walked toward it, beckoning her to follow. "These all work the same. Pick a steed and take a seat."

Of course, Mai shot him a disbelieving look, but he was sure he saw a small spark of amusement. When he reached the center he flipped switches and pressed buttons until the carousel turned on, the lights bright and music playing.

It wasn't just the carousel that lit up. Mai's eyes flew wide. She let out a laugh and walked around on the moving floor, until settling onto a fancy mermaid. Keith had no intention of stopping the thing so he sat near her toward the outside. While the girl had a great time he watched for when security or the authorities finally arrived, then hopped down. "It's security! Time to go!"

Mai's eyes widened again. She jumped off and let him drag her away, leading her to another spot where they could easily get over the fence. They ran numerous blocks before they finally stopped, panting, with her smiling the whole way. Then he laughed with her until her stomach loudly growled.

"Time for food. I'll buy." Keith started walking vaguely toward her apartment, keeping an eye out for contractors or someplace to eat. They ended up at a street food stand. He ordered ramen and didn't pay attention to what she asked for as he made note of the best escape routes. Therefore, he was surprised when the proprietor slide a massive ice cream sundae over the counter.

Keith blinked at her. Mai grinned and stuck out her tongue, diving in.

From there, they wandered the rest of the night. They visited arcades. He won her a stuffed lion from a claw machine, and in return, she got him a very pink anime keychain from a capsule vending machine. They walked and they talked. Keith pulled a lot of his stories from various undercover jobs, sprinkling in some generic ones from his childhood before the stars fell as well. It was comforting to remember the good times.

By the time the sun came up, they were strolling along the tracks since the first trains hadn't started running. Mai turned around and started walking backwards. "You're from Korea? Your Japanese is great."

"Well, I grew up there. My mother was Japanese. I was born here." He forced the smile to stay on his face.

"I'm a returnee child myself," said Mai as she walked one of the rails like a balance beam, "though I may not look it. Up until I entered grade school, my family and I were in Africa ..."

Keith had been hoping to learn more about her father and his research, but Mai stopped, coming closer. She reached to the wrap she wore on her left wrist and started to remove it. "This is special. Just for you, Akira, I'll show you."

She held out her wrist once it was off. "Look closely. See it?"

There was a slight divot in her wrist, like her skin had been cut open and allowed to heal that way. At first that's what he thought she wanted him to see. Then, a glint of soft gold light emitted from it.

"Years ago," she continued, "it used to glow even more. But little by little, it started getting dimmer."

Keith leaned in closer, trying to figure out what it was. Not jewelry. He couldn't see anything physical, just the glow. Something felt all too familiar ...

"Recently, it's gotten so it completely disappears sometimes." Her expression grew soft as she stared at her wrist. "My papa told me when I was little, 'Mai, there's a good-luck charm in there, to protect you.'"

Her expression fell. Keith's instincts prickled. Was Mai somehow tied into Dr. Tahara's work? What had he done to her?

She started walking.

He kept pace. "Your father did that? Is he a doctor?"

"Yeah."

"Then, what sort of work does he do?"

"Research," she sighed.

Finally, here was his chance. "He's a scholar? What kind of research does he do?"

"I don't know."

Keith held back his own sigh. Damnit.

"Akira, what are you doing in Japan?" She kept walking, hands clasped behind her back.

"Studying abroad."

"Any siblings, or other family?"

Keith took a deep breath and let it out. "No." _Not that he was aware of, anyway._

He managed to school his expression as she turned, smiling at him. "I see. Just like me."

She smiled wistfully, turning her gaze to the soft blue sky. "It's just about time for the first trains, huh?"

They left the tracks. She took his hand as he walked her toward home, and he couldn't help wondering if any adult had given her this much attention in years.

"Keith, you almost seem like an older brother."

He made himself smile. On that part, she was wrong. Shiro was older.

<Keith ...> Narti's voice broke the silence. <Incoming.>

They were approaching a construction zone, so there were barriers everywhere. Keith took note of the possible escape routes. A minute later, two men came around the corner ahead, their cold expressions making his instincts scream in agreement with Narti.

Things were too tight to play innocent. Time to drop the act. He spoke quietly, just loud enough for Mai to hear him. "We're going down the next alleyway."

"Huh? Akira?"

Keith gripped her hand harder and took off running once they turned the corner. Two more men intercepted them. It was too early for Keith to let her see his abilities -- doing so would put her in more danger -- so he rammed into one and yelled, "Run!"

She went pale. "Huh??"

"Don't think! Just run!"

As she ran off, he continued to wrestle with the two, and then the other two who followed. Best to let them think he was just a regular human friend. Unfortunately, the first two got past him.

Gunfire erupted nearby. _Shit._ Keith took two of them out using his ability and hurried to catch up in his muted state. They had her cornered in a construction site with a half-finished building, firing when she tried to run. She looked more and more frightened, and then her face blanked, and Keith suddenly remembered his earlier concerns.

With his emotions dampened, Keith didn't have a spike of fear-created adrenaline, but he still managed to dive behind a hefty concrete wall before a massive explosion nearly deafened him. There were a few follow-ons, so he had to wait until things stopped blowing up before running back. The building was utterly destroyed. The steel beams were blackened and steaming, some even warped, and there were charred bodies scattered through the continuing fire and smoke.

The one thing he couldn't see was Mai. A faint thread of worry told him his emotions were starting to return. Had they captured her? Or had she wandered off?

"Keith?!" Hunk called out through his earpiece. "You okay?"

Keith could barely hear Hunk through the ringing in his ears. "Yeah. I lost her. You guys _have_ to find her. She's got to be in a trance by now."

"On it," responded all three of them.

Keith lingered near the site, hoping to spot Mai among the chaos. They couldn't ignore the implications of that glowing spot in her wrist and the sudden explosion. "I'll find a better vantage point and watch the site. Maybe she'll wander back through."

He received a hum of acknowledgment from Hunk. That was good enough for him. If he didn't see Mai, he might catch site of Meyer & Hilton's men. They could be worth following.

Hopefully Mai was all right.

#

Lance had learned long ago to enjoy his time off when he had it. Since he needed to be in shape he'd headed to the Public Safety Division's gym. They had an awesome lap pool available to the upper ranks, and he used it as much as he could.

Swimming generally cleared his head. It worked this time, too, except for the occasional flash of violet eyes and ink-black hair. The relevant investigation was closed, so trying to ask the guy out was no longer out of line, but he knew all too well how awkward that could be. Probably best to take his time and wait until the memory of the man at his door with a badge faded some.

It took him a moment to realized he'd slowed down. Lance picked up the pace, re-focusing, and reached his fifty lap mark. As he climbed out to take a breather his phone rang. He grabbed a towel and answered his phone at the same time. "McClain."

"Lieutenant, there's a new star!" Otsuka sounded breathless. 

A chill ran down Lance's spine. The awakening of some contractors involved chaos and casualties. He went to the window and was -- sadly -- not shocked to see thick black smoke rising from the middle of the city. The last time he'd seen anything so bad was ...

Lance bit his lip. He needed to be at his best, so better think about that another time. "Send Ulaz and Coran to the scene. I'll meet them there. Get Thace collecting information about what happened from other departments."

"Of course."

So much for more laps. Lance hung up, then dried off as quickly as he could. Once dry, he gathered his things and hurried to the locker room. His team had to find this new contractor, and fast. An incident that large meant they gained their ability under intense stress. He doubted that stress ended when the former human found themselves in the middle of a massive fire, so this incident could just be the beginning.

Traffic was snarled, but with his siren and ID he parked close enough and walked the rest of the way. Covered bodies lined the construction site and the building was completely gutted. Nearby buildings were charred and pocked. The whole area was full people from a whole alphabet soup of national and international agencies. His wouldn't have been the only one notified about the new star.

Lance found his men among the throngs and joined them. "What have we got?"

"We've got a real show stopper this time," said Ulaz, frowning. "From what Astronomics says, the spectrum of the new star indicates a moratorium."

The news was like a gut punch. Lance sucked in a breath. While he was processing, Coran lifted one of the blankets covering the bodies.

"Burned just as crispy as the bacon I had for breakfast." He sounded unusually solemn.

"A moratorium, huh?" Ulaz muttered. "That's trouble."

 _No shit._ Lance's phone buzzed. The text summoned him elsewhere. "I'm heading out. Keep me informed."

"Of course." Ulaz saluted.

Lance turned back toward his car, rolling his eyes. He kept telling the man to stop doing that. Hopefully when he reached the observatory he'd learn something useful.


	3. Chapter 3

Keith lingered on higher ground, watching dazed crowds mill around as medics treated civilians and officers took statements. He'd been waiting thirty minutes and still no sign of Mai. On the plus side, he'd also seen that hot Lieutenant arrive on the scene. It was never the wrong time to admire the way that sharp blue suit framed broad shoulders and a firm ass.

"What's going on here?" Lotor stepped up beside him, a sheen of sweat making it clear that he'd been out there searching as well. "Why would Tahara's daughter be ...?"

Mind still churning, Keith remained silent.

Lotor eyed him. "Do you have any idea of what's going on?"

Keith did. It had to be the supposed good luck charm. "I have a hunch. I need to talk to her father."

His boss shrugged and took Keith's spot against the retaining wall. "I'll keep watch here, then. None of the intel from the Syndicate suggested she was a contractor. Does that mean his research worked?"

"I don't think she's a contractor." Keith stared back at the site as though it had all the answers. "I think it's much worse."

Lotor went pale. "Find out. And be careful."

"Of course."

As Keith strode toward Dr. Tahara's office, he replayed everything in his head. Mai was definitely too animated to have already been a contractor unless she was the most amazing actress he'd ever seen. It was possible that she'd literally just come into her powers and went overboard defending herself. His own instincts screamed, though, in the other direction.

<I've got her.> Narti sounded as unruffled as usual, her mental voice music to his his still ringing ears. <She just walked into a post and is waking back up.>

Her news wasn't, though. It just added to his gut feeling. Time to re-route. "Guide me."

He'd had to approach Mai with the utmost caution. If she felt threatened at all he could be killed. Another explosion in the distance made that fact perfectly clear.

<In her confusion she wandered into the street. A van nearly hit her.>

"And now it's on fire," Keith muttered, walking toward the smoke. He didn't dare break into a run. The authorities had to be looking for her. Standing out by running _toward_ an explosion would complicate things too much.

#

Lance sped toward the National Observatory, getting updates through his radio. "What's that about Meyer & Hilton?"

"When the UK entered the Argentine costal conflict," Sendak responded, "they were the first company to commit contractors as weapons in battle. I haven't heard anything good about them. They employ inbreeding to mass-produce contractors, cross-fertilize among a variety of special-abilities people to produce hybrids, and perform experimental brain surgery on normal people to execute contracts."

Lance's stomach churned. Contractors were still people. He didn't understand how anyone could do that to others. "What's their connection to the new moratorium?"

"Unclear," Sendak answered. "We only that ten years ago they employed a Japanese scientist. None of the details about his research have ever been leaked. Their purpose for being in this country, the nature of that man's research, and the emergence of this new star could all be connected."

For once Lance didn't feel like punching Sendak. "Understood. I'll put Coran and Ulaz on that. I'll track down the moratorium."

"Hurry, McClain. You need to secure and isolate them immediately. They're neither contractors or dolls. They're defective monsters lacking self-awareness, and unable to control their abilities."

Lance was surprised that he wasn't being ordered the kill the moratorium. Knowing the brass, though, they wanted to study whatever poor soul -- monster seemed a bit harsh-- had this happen to them. "I'll do whatever it takes."

He arrived at the National Observatory and quickly passed through security. Most of the staff there knew him. The moment he stepped out of the car, his childhood friend Pidge -- he had to remember to use Pidge and not Katie -- and Otsuka ran out from the building.

"Lieutenant!" Pidge called. "Thank you for coming."

Lance noted Pidges ponytail, sparkly earrings, and makeup. He'd known her long enough to know that meant Pidge was "she" today, then. "What's the subject up to, Chief Gunderson?"

Pidge's eyes flashed with frustration. "Earlier, our mediums reacquired the moratorium near Nerima-ku. However, we identified the countercurrent of some powerful thought pressure, so for now we've suspended search activities."

Thought pressure meant that other Dolls were observing the subject. Lance wondered just how many agencies and countries were trying to find the new moratorium first.

Pidge turned, her lab coat swirling behind them. Lance and Otsuka followed her into the observatory.

Nerima-ku was a heavily populated area. Lance's stomach started to churn with worry. "What about the evacuation advisory?"

Otsuka answered. "We've issued it over a five-kilometer area under the pretext of a ruptured gas line."

As they reached the observatory's central area, Lance once again got chills. On a platform surrounded by machinery sat an old woman, a huge helmet attached to her head and wires leading everywhere. He followed the others to the edge of the platform and bowed along with them in a show of respect. Without this woman, they would nearly be blind.

"I've been away too long, Stargazer," said Lance. "It's me, Lance McClain."

She didn't so much as twitch.

Pidge led them to her office, next. "The reason contractors came to be called contractors in the first place was because a mental spellbinding act, called a 'price,' was required after using their abilities. This payment is deferred for moratoriums. Once a set time has passed after using their abilities, they generally transition into a doll state. Kind of like the mediums we have here."

After taking a sip of his coffee, Lance said, "Unlike a standard contractor, a moratorium is unable to control their powers on their own, right?"

"That's the size of it." Pidge sighed. "Honestly, those of us here at the observatory don't know anything foreign affairs doesn't already have a grasp on. We haven't observed many moratorium cases."

"Yeah." Lance took another sip.

"However," she added, "this time the pulse might be a bit on the unstable side. That means we don't know what they're going to do."

Lance couldn't stop worrying about all of those innocent people. They had no idea that contractors even existed, yet could be blown up in an instant. A poke to the center of his forehead made him snap out of it.

"You're furrowing your brow again, Mr. Beauty Regime," she teased. "You're not that young anymore. You're seriously going to give yourself wrinkles."

He appreciated what they were trying to do, so he managed to smile. "Aren't we the same age?"

"Hell no." She grinned, pushing her glasses up. "I'm a genius, remember?"

Lance had to bite back a comment about her not having changed. No one could know just how long they'd known each other. He didn't entirely approve of Pidge infiltrating astronomics for information on what happened to her brother and father. Still, he knew how much doing so meant to her, and she was excellent at her job -- not that he'd expected anything less.

He had no idea how far she'd gotten in her search, but this moratorium definitely had to come first. No one else needed to lose their families. They'd all seen too much death already.

#

Keith grit his teeth in frustration. Mai had run off where there wasn't any water, so Narti couldn't find her, and Keith was slowed down in his search by everyone mustering for evacuation. And, of course, Hunk was having his own problems.

"Damnit," Hunk groused. "That's the fifth person who's tried to catch me to carry me out with them."

Lotor chuckled. "That's what you get for choosing a cute kitty to possess. No one wants you to get blown up."

Keith did his best to tune out the chatter. He had to focus before things got even worse.

"I see her! She's hunkered down in an alley!" Hunk reported. "Oh crap, one of her friends is coming to help her. With an older guy. Probably the friend's father."

Cursing under his breath, Keith got Hunk to tell him where.

After that, Hunk asked, "Should I break them up?"

A chill shot down Keith's spine, instincts screaming. "No. You'll get them killed and yourself along with them."

He dared to start running through the back alleys. If he was spotted he'd deal with it then.

"Oh no, this isn't good." Hunk sounded tense. "The dad is trying to pull Mai with them."

Moments later, the roar of flames and terrible screams erupted ahead. "Hunk!" Keith ran faster. "Don't lose her!"

"Oh shit!" Hunk whispered back. "I'm caught. I'll get out of here as soon as I can."

"By what?" Lotor asked.

<A human with a pillow.>

Narti must have spotted them. At any other time Keith might have been amused, but he was too busy racing to find Mai, and wondering how he could bring her in without being roasted.

Keith reached the latest plume of smoke and managed not to be spotted by everyone staring in horror. What was that mantra his father was always pushing on him and Shiro? Ah yes. "Patience yields focus."

"What's that?" Hunk's voice was muffled, no doubt from the pillow.

"Nothing. Just find her." Keith refocused on everything happening around him. She'd moved on, possibly in another trance, so what way would she have gone?

He picked a direction and jogged, conserving his energy somewhat as he look down streets and alleys. One way or another, they'd find her. What would happen to her once they brought her in, he didn't know, but no moratorium _chose_ to leave a trail of destruction behind them. Hopefully she wanted this to stop, too.

#

Lance paced, watching the national observatory's staff work. He wanted so badly to yell and demand they work faster, but knew better than most that he'd just be slowing things down. Plus, Pidge would find a way to make him pay later.

"Found the moratorium!" called one of the techs.

Pidge and Otsuka rushed to look over her shoulder. Heart pounding, Lance joined them but stayed farther back, out of their way.

Otsuka spoke as the tech frantically typed and clicked. "Subject acquired in Nakano-ku, Maruyamakita!"

Relief flooded into Lance. They weren't out of the woods yet, but he had to make sure everyone understood. He grabbed the police radio at the central console. "Don't provoke the subject. Wait for the special team to arrive."

"Setting up outside the park," responded an officer. "She's sitting on a swing, doing nothing."

"I'm on my way." Lance pulled out his keys, then looked to Pidge. "Let me know if anything changes."

"Roger." Pidge did a mock salute, but her eyes were full of concern. "Be careful."

"You got it."

Lance ran to his car and tore out of the parking lot. As long as nothing threatened the girl and she remained in a doll-like state, everything should be fine. By the time he got there, though, it was a bloodbath. Four officers were dead, limbs or their heads sliced through so clean it had to be done by a contractor's ability. But not their moratorium. She'd have burned them.

He was glad he wouldn't have to notify their families himself. Poor people. Lance then grabbed his radio. "Get me information on which contractors were active between when the officers called and when I arrived! And send forensics to secure and process the scene. They'll need a protection team as well."

"Roger," responded Thace.

A peek inside the park showed what he expected. The moratorium was gone. Lance resisted the urge to kick the wall and start yelling in frustration. Doing so would just cause more panic among people passing by. "And get me the description they called in for the moratorium! She's gone."

He examined the scene further, making sure not to disturb any evidence so the officers' killer would be found. As much as he wanted to run off and continue his search, he owed these men and women to remain until the place was taped off and guarded. Everything was slashed through. Helmets, body armor, even the officers' cars had big gouges in them.

Nothing would have protected these normal humans. Nothing.


	4. Chapter 4

Keith reached Dr. Tahara's office at dusk. The area was mostly empty, but he was still careful to remain unseen. Who knew who else might be watching?

He finally reached the window to peer in, surprised when he spotted the doctor with his head down on the desk. The pot with the once pretty purple flower now smashed on the floor. That meant that the goons from Meyers & Hilton hadn't appeared yet. Not a good sign.

The phone started to ring. Keith had a feeling he knew who was calling, especially after they kept on the line so long, the phone ringing and ringing until he finally answered. He tapped his earpiece to pull up the audio from the doctor's watch so he could listen in.

"Dr. Tahara, that wasn't very nice of you," an arrogant voice said. Probably Mr. Henderson. "Your research was successful, wasn't it? To suppress the powers of a contractor?"

Ah, that's what he was working on.

"Though I must admit," the vice president continued, "I didn't expect that you'd use your own daughter as a guinea pig. We could come to see you there at the factory, of course, but we would like to avoid any further casualties. Why don't you come to us here?"

Keith rolled his eyes. They were probably just afraid that moving Mai would set her off.

"We _will_ release your daughter. I promise."

_Sure. Sure they will._

Dr. Tahara started cursing them. Instead of responding, there was a click as they hung up.

Anger simmered in Keith. That poor girl. He often felt annoyed, but now that he was a contractor, to truly get angry was rare. The doctor wasn't paying any attention as he slipped into the office, and barely flinched when he spoke. "Is it true that you used your daughter as a guinea pig? What did you do to her?"

When the man didn't answer, Keith stepped closer, glaring. "What did you implant into Mai's wrist?"

"You must have heard about it at least once," Dr. Tahara finally answered, "about how I was the sole survivor of the initial Gate investigative team? Back then, I took home a certain substance from the Gate. By implanting that substance within the body of a contractor, there was a possibility that it might keep their abilities from manifesting."

The doctor paused, still staring down at his desk. "I made that discovery one day, after being employed by Meyer & Hilton for around two years. And then, right at the same time ..."

Keith knew the look of someone lost in a memory. He reminded himself to be patient. Finally, he was getting the information he needed.

"You know how the people known as contractors are looked upon by the rest of the world, don't you?"

The man must have thought Keith was a human agent. He shrugged, fully aware.

Dr. Tahara pushed away from his desk, rising to his feet. "I tried to suppress the manifestation of Mai's abilities by implanting the substance from within the Gate into her wrist, even though my understanding of it was incomplete. I was grasping at straws. No ... to be more precise, they weren't straws. What I was grasping at was seeds."

Keith's gaze was immediately drawn to the broken flower pot. The lone flower it had contained. No wonder the thing had felt familiar.

"Thinking back on it now," the doctor continued, "maybe those seeds had been cursed by the Gate. Or, perhaps it's what I deserved for setting foot in there. The seed that I implanted in Mai would decay in time. Once it did, her abilities would start to manifest themselves again. I continued my research. What I determined was that complete suppression was impossible. Then, the host into which the seed was implanted would metamorphose into a moratorium, and there would be no telling when their trance would be broken."

His voice rose as he became more agitated. "What I had done was turn my own daughter into a monster that couldn't even become a contractor!" Dr. Tahara paused and slowly calmed down. "I destroyed all of my data. I erased Mai's memories using M.E. and left the company. I couldn't let them find out about it. I didn't want her to be turned into a true guinea pig."

After listening closely, Keith suspected he understood where this was going. His mission was to learn as much he could about the research, and bring it back if he could. No doubt the Syndicate hoped to control contractors through suppressing their abilities. He filed that concern away for later. "So you threw everything away and fled here, is that it?

The man surged forward, his eyes wild. It took intense concentration for Keith to allow the guy to pin him back against a bookcase without at least decking him return.

"I told you!" The doctor yelled. "It's quite impossible to suppress a contract from manifesting! Yet you would still have me continue that senseless experiment on her?"

Keith just stared at him in silence until he calmed down again and let go. It was hard to have much sympathy for the man given that he'd experimented on his own child. He had to wonder, though, if his parents might have done the same with Shiro if the option was available. Or ... at least their father might have.

"I was able to carry two seeds out of there. One of them is in Mai's wrist. The other one is," he gestured to the pot on the floor. "Even if the seed implanted in Mai was to decay completely away, as long as I could keep implanting newly-produced seeds, I could keep Mai's nature as a moratorium suppressed forever. That's why I was only able to put my mind at ease when I watered this plant. But then, that clock stopped this morning. The seeds didn't grow."

That explained why Mai said the glow had been fading, and why her ability manifested when it did. Keith turned, slowly heading toward the door. This was all he was likely to get out of the guy. The daughter was still in trouble.

"I was afraid!" The doctor sounded haunted. "I dreaded the moment when I would see the result of my mistake before me! If I'd known, I would have far rather had her be a contractor, instead!"

Keith stopped just before he reached the door. The man could have explained all of this to his daughter, or at least kept her close and prepared her for when the seeds died. Instead, he left her in the worst possible mental state. "If you're making penance, you've got the wrong person. You can stay here in this room forever, for all I care."

As rough as Keith's childhood was, at least his father hadn't abandoned them too. Not willingly, anyway. He left the building and didn't look back. Since he'd overheard the conversation on the phone, he already knew where to go, there just had been no reason to rush since the men were waiting for the doctor and his research.

He found the warehouse where they were holding Mai before the sun finished setting. The three armed guards outside were a pretty big clue that he had the right place. Keith changed into his trench coat and mask, hiding his jacket behind some drums to pick up later. It took no time to deal with the guards he could see. That left him free to find the fusebox, and fry the lights and other equipment inside.

Emotions dulled, Keith rushed up the outer stairs, keeping an eye out for tripwires and other traps. He doubted there were only three armed guards. Not when a company big-wig was in the field. Since he'd be willing to be a mission's pay that more humans were behind the door to the inside, waiting for it to open, he grabbed the doorknob and activated his ability.

Sure enough, he heard screams and then thuds. He threw the door open and dashed inside. The whistle of incoming blades had him dodging, taking note of the nearly transparent shards embedded in the wall behind instead of in his body. They quickly vanished.

 _Wind manipulation, huh?_ That was some wind. The big guy in the sharp suit, with his dreadlocks neatly pulled back, must be Luc. His dark skin contrasted sharply with the golden glow of Quintessential Radiation, his pupils red as he prepared to use his ability again. If this guy was any good he was going to be a challenge.

Keith prepared himself. "A contractor, huh?"

Luc grinned, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Looks like we're birds of a feather."

With the flick of his opponent's wrist, another wind shard came at Keith. He surged forward, throwing the knife he kept his line attached to, but Luc sliced the knife in half with some form of wind whip. A moment later, the man lashed the whip in Keith's direction.

He dodged, but the whip took out the supports for the metal landing he'd been standing on. As Luc lashed his whip back toward himself, it caught on Keith's mask, splitting it off of his face. Grateful that the mask took the blow for him, he shot his line up and around a steel beam, then swung around to drop behind metal storage containers and regroup.

"That's far enough!"

Keith recognized that arrogant voice from the phone. He turned to find Kenneth Henderson holding a gun to Mai's chest. She looked completely zoned out, no doubt still in her doll state. That was fortunate for all of them.

The human sneered. "Or do you not care what happens to Tahara's daughter?"

Footsteps clanked on top of the metal container shielding Keith. Luc smirked above him. "You could have retrieved the girl right off, and not concerned yourself about me."

That would have been the most rational choice, Keith had to agree, if she wasn't a moratorium. Had these people not figured it out?

"For pity's sake," grumbled Henderson, looking off to the side. "You sure did hire an usual contractor, Doctor Tahara."

Keith looked in the same direction just enough to see that the doctor had indeed decided to show. Despite her doll state, Mai had done the same. 

"Give me back my daughter." Dr. Tahara stood with his hands clenched.

Keith tensed. Was the man finally going to be a father again? Or was this going to get worse?

Henderson looked smug. "You've agreed to help us?"

"I'm not going back to you people," said the doctor, sliding his hand into his pocket. "Instead, I have my research material here."

Henderson pressed the gun harder into Mai. "Hand it over."

"My daughter, first."

Keith forced himself not to over-focus on the doctor and Mai. Luc was still there as well.

"Look, Mai." Henderson smirked. "Your beloved papa is here to pick you up."

The man shoved Mai toward her father, but she stopped. "No, I don't know that man."

Had they erased her memories? No, something was wrong with her voice. Keith watched her more closely, seeing that her eyes were still blank. He had a bad feeling about this and readied his line. He might need a quick escape.

Dr. Tahara started approaching her. She hesitated, fidgeting like anervous child. Then, just like he'd done in the car, the doctor grabbed her wrist. As she thrashed to get away, things started to go sideways. A fire started between her and Henderson.

Keith grimaced. If they were lucky that's as far as the fire would go. He'd adjust his position but Luc was still above. He couldn't deal with the other contractor at the same time as the rest of it so he stayed put.

"H-hurry and hand over the material!" The Henderson seemed to be getting the picture, looking frantic.

The doctor pulled the dead flower's remains from his pocket and tossed them on the ground.

"What is that?" Henderson asked.

"My material," Dr. Tahara answered, still gripping Mai's wrists as she struggled to break free.

"What mockery is this? Give me the real thing, now!"

Shooting a grim, faint smile, the doctor responded, "That is all of my research."

The dead flower burst into flame. Mai struggled harder, but her father held her close. "N-no! Let me go!"

Flames spread to engulf the space around Mai, Dr. Tahara, and Henderson. While Keith could only hear parts of what they were saying, he did hear Mai yell something involving her papa.

Memories tried to surge but Keith begged them to leave him be. _Not now!_

Everything made sense now. In her doll state, she was just a child. No wonder she didn't recognize her father.

The fire grew quickly. No longer willing to risk staying put, Keith shot his line around a beam, pulling himself above for a better view. Dr. Tahara and Mai were hugging in the middle of the flames. A glint brought Keith's attention to a knife. He frowned as he realized that the doctor was about to plunge into her back. Before he could intervene, though, Luc flicked one of his wind shards and knocked the knife from her father's hand.

The doctor lunged for the knife while Henderson yelled, "Never mind him, the main priority is the sample!"

Luc made a nearly wind javelin and prepared to throw. Keith flung his knife, hitting the contractor's arm, but that didn't stop the javelin from burying itself into Dr. Tahara's back.

Keith sighed. He had to end this before the whole warehouse went up. Since Henderson and Luc were focused on the doctor, Luc never noticed Keith coming up behind him. When the man began to chuckle -- the sick ass -- Keith wrapped his line around the guy's neck.

"That smile doesn't suit you." Keith surged power through his line, killing Luc instantly. A glance told him that Mai had crouched by her father. She'd no doubt perceive any attempt to reach them as a threat.

Mai stood, facing Henderson.

"Wait!" Henderson backed away. "Luc's the one who killed him! Not me!"

Keith risked dropping beside her. She might be a moratorium but that didn't mean she had to be a monster. "Don't do it, Mai."

She turned to face him. Her gaze was no longer empty like a doll's. Instead, it was cold like a contractor's, her pupils beginning to glow red. "Why not?"

"Don't! Don't do it!" Henderson aimed his gun at Mai, a fatal mistake. He burst into flames a moment later, his screams filling the warehouse, and fell silent just in time for the sprinkler system to turn on.

Keith watched as Mai tipped her head back and began to sing a wordless song as the water came down. Gone was the vibrant girl he'd met. Even in her singing she sounded distant now, no emotion behind behind the music.

Claws clicked on the ground. Keith glanced down just to make sure who it was.

Hunk stopped to watch her, cocking his head.

Keith's adrenaline began to slow, leaving behind a buzzing under his skin. "It's her price."

"A moratorium changing into a contractor?" Hunk sounded more fascinated than disturbed. "The probability of that is supposed to be zero." 

Keith shrugged. In a way, he supposed it was a good thing. As a contractor Mai could choose when to use her powers. Her options for the future were no longer limited to being "put down" or spending the rest of her life heavily contained in a lab.

"The strangest things do happen," said Lotor, joining them. "Never mind about Tahara. We've found something even more interesting."

There was no point in Keith trying to protect her further, so he didn't protest. What was done was done. Another contractor, another death machine.

Mai finished her song, then spoke in a flat tone. "I feel like I've killed a lot."

"Don't let it get you down," said Lotor, quirking a smile. "After all, killing people is what contractors do."

"Where am I going?"

Lotor approached her. "To heaven. The boat trip there might be a little long, though."

Syndicate training grounds, then. Made sense, Keith figured. She'd learn control there. Then Mai would become a weapon, instead of growing up to become a happy woman with a career and loving friends and family that she cherished after being alone for so long.

He turned his gaze to the doctor's body. Apparently his mind wasn't done trying to conjure the memory, as images flashed in his mind. Dark smoke billowing into the sky. Three figures partying in front of a fire. The buzzing under his skin began to build in his chest, threatening to birth something ugly.

Keith ruthlessly crushed the memories down. Letting them surface now was too dangerous. He still didn't dare trust his colleagues to know his weaknesses, and his losing control could cause a bad chain reaction with Mai. Instead, he went to collect his broken mask and knife. His policy was no evidence left behind when he could help it.

Once he was done, he turned to Lotor. "We should go to whatever meeting point you've been given. The police and fire department will be here soon."

"Agreed." Lotor turned and gestured to Mai. "Follow me. You'll like the perks of working with the Syndicate."

"Whatever."

Apparently she found coming with them to be the most rational thing to do, having nowhere else to go. It wasn't long before they met a dark van in a back alley and had Mai climb in. When she was on her way, Hunk said, "So, dinner on me everyone?"

The buzzing began crackling in Keith's chest. "I'll pass tonight. Thanks."

"Your loss." The possessed feline trotted off.

Lotor shot Keith a long, curious look before turning to follow.

Keith went and found his jacket, then folded the trench coat inside it. He checked his reflection in some glass to ensure he didn't look like he'd been through a massive fight. Once satisfied, he headed home. He _had_ to get there before the pressure reached its boiling point.

It wasn't safe for him or anyone else, otherwise.


	5. Chapter 5

Keith was glad there was no one out when he reached his building. The place was usually so lively. He couldn't have handled that with the pressure-cooker inside about to explode. After entering his apartment he locked it, and shutting the windows tight, then huddling on the floor in a corner as from from metal as he could get.

The memories slammed out of their cage, sparks erupting from all over his skin. He rocked and rocked under the assault, tears streaming down his cheeks, as it all played in an awful loop. Why hadn't becoming a contractor dulled these memories? Why did they always rip out his heart?

 

_In the distance, thick black smoke billowed high into the air. At first, Keith thought someone was burning a field to clear it, or a bunch of smokers were set up near each other to prepare smoked meat. As they got closer to home, though, Keith felt sick. "That's our house, Shiro! Dad!!!!!"_

_"Hold on." Shiro hit the gas. There were three vehicles outside the burning cabin. One was their father's truck, and the other two Keith didn't recognize. A group of three people looked to be partying out front, doing weird things and laughing as the place burned. Two of them looked Shiro's age of seventeen and the other looked older._

_The strangers only looked up as Shiro hit the breaks. He put the car in park and his voice sounded colder than Keith had ever heard it. "Stay in the car."_

_Keith trembled as Shiro stepped out and approached the trio, who lazily began to stand with sneers on their faces. What had happened to their dad? He had to know, so he slipped out of the truck and began maneuvering around to get a better view._

_"What happened here?" Shiro stopped just in front of the strangers._

_"Your dad wouldn't give us his truck," said one of them, a girl Keith figured by her voice. "And we wanted it. There's three of us. We need three sets of wheels."_

_She sounded as cold as Shiro, though amused too. Keith spotted his father's boots and gasped. They weren't moving. His stomach gurgled sickly as he crawled under their dad's truck. Maybe their dad was just knocked out._

_"It would have been rational to just incapacitate him," Shiro continued, voice cold as ice. "What contractor needs to kill a human just to take a truck?"_

_Keith's stomach lurched at Shiro's words. He crawled faster, soon able to see along his dad's denim-clad legs. That's as far as he could get while still remaining beneath the truck, so he peeked out and saw that no one was looking his way. The two girls and one guy were all staring at Shiro._

_"You know about contractors, huh?" The guy stepped closer to Shiro. "What does that make you?"_

_As Keith carefully maneuvered out from underneath, he could see his dad's belt, then the plaid shirt that was tucked into his jeans._

_"My brother will be upset."_

_Keith couldn't see what Shiro was doing, but if he looked carefully he could that everyone looked tense. He knew Shiro could usually take care of himself but it was three against one. Time to hurry and wake their dad up._

_As Keith focused getting closer to their father, he lost track of the conversation. All he knew was that he had maneuvered to a spot where he could see his dad's chest. Thick, dark liquid pooled all around him on the ground. What stole Keith's breath, though, was the massive hole in the middle of his chest. Keith could literally see that bones and bits and pieces of flesh had fallen into the hole._

_"No," he moaned. This couldn't be real. Forgetting that he didn't want to be seen, Keith rushed closer. His father's face was stark white, his eyes widened in shock, and his mouth spread open like he was screaming._

_"No," Keith moaned again. He was only ten. He couldn't have lost both parents already. Dropping down by their father's side, he clutched a cold, stiff hand. "No! No no no no no no ...."_

_Some detached part of him knew his voice was rising in pitch, but he didn't care. His mother had left them, Shiro tried to be a good brother and while he'd gotten better, he was still pretty distant, and now their father was gone?_

_Keith started sobbing, his whole body shaking. "NO!"_

_The world erupted around him. Some detached part of him noticed that contractors were fighting. Shiro was probably fighting. He couldn't move, though. He couldn't stop staring at the man who'd done everything he could to make Keith feel loved, and to prepare them to survive in this crazy world._

_This was why, he realized. This was what their father had been so afraid of._

_Motion brought him back to reality. The fight was pushing one of the trio his way. Inside him, something snapped. Keith growled and pulled out the knife his mother had left him, sinking it into the girl's kidney like he'd been taught, then striking her again and again as she screamed and fell._

_Suddenly hands gripped his shoulders. Keith whirled to attack._

_"Keith!" Shiro shook him. "They're dead. They're all dead."_

_He looked up into Shiro's eyes, trembling. His brother was scuffed and cut up pretty good. Shiro took the knife from Keith's hands with a worried, sad expression, then pulled him close. It was the most feeling Keith had seen in Shiro's eyes since his brother had become a contractor._

_Only now did it occur to Keith that he could have lost Shiro in the fight as well. He started bawling, sinking into his brother's arms when they held him tighter. Where were they going to go? What were they going to do? Would their mother come back? Did she ever plan to return?_

_How would she find them if they left?_

_Once Keith had cried himself out, Shiro continued to stroke his hair. "Keith, I'm going to clean up your knife, and then we need to find anything we can salvage."_

_Keith sniffled and hiccuped, feeling numb. When he didn't move, Shiro patted his head and left him there. Some part of Keith felt sure that his brother wasn't coming back. Shiro was a contractor. He didn't need to be slowed down by looking out for a brother seven years younger than him. Everyone else had left him, anyway._

_By the time Shiro approached with a pail of water, Keith's knees felt locked in place. He had no idea of how long he'd knelt there and he didn't really care._

_"Close your eyes."_

_Keith saw the red running onto the ground as Shiro washed his hands. That was enough. He screwed his eyes shut, but it didn't help. All closing his eyes did was bring back memories of stabbing that girl over and over._

_He'd killed someone. There'd been so much blood._

_Ultimately, Keith had needed to remove all of his clothes. Blood had soaked in everywhere._

_"I won't say happy birthday." His brother stroked his hair again. "But all of our clothes burned up so you need the new ones."_

_Shiro stood and walked to the car. Afraid he wouldn't come back, Keith pushed himself to his feet, wobbling from how long he'd been down there. By the time he felt ready to follow, Shiro was already returning with a bag of clothes. As his brother handed them over, Keith put them on mechanically, still numb._

_That was right. This was his tenth birthday. He'd been so sure their dad had sent them shopping to set up some kind of surprise. Tears spilled down his face by the time he was fully dressed. Yeah, this was a surprise._

_Shiro took hold of his shoulders. "We'll need money to get us started. Is it okay if we return the new TV and games?"_

_Their father had gotten new work lately, and decided to splurge. Keith nodded, tentatively taking a few steps. It suddenly occurred to him that Shiro had fought using his ability, but still hadn't paid his price. His dad had been very clear. Every single time he had to get Shiro somewhere safe before he slept. "Uh ... maybe you should lie down? In the car?"_

_Shiro's lids drooped as he swayed. "Don't you want to take Dad's truck?"_

_"We'll figure it out when you wake up." Honestly, he didn't know how Shiro had managed to stay awake so long after the fight. Keith maneuvered his brother into the back of the car. The moment Shiro reached the far back door, he was out._

_At first, Keith considered trying to load things up so he didn't have to think. The thought of being out there all by himself as it got dark, though, was too terrifying. Who else might be around who wanted their vehicles?_

_He should drive them away. Far, far away. Their dad had let him drive on remote roads at times, even though he could barely see over the dash, but there was one little problem. He had no idea where to drive them_ to _. Instead, Keith closed the door and made sure all four were locked before curling up against Shiro._

_A moment later it occurred to him that they'd left their father's body lying out in the open. He should go do something about that, but the thought of going out there made him nearly puke. Gods, he was so useless. The tears returned. He cried and cried and cried until he couldn't cry anymore._

_Keith vowed to get stronger. He couldn't be a baby anymore, and he couldn't count on their mother coming home. Shiro was all he had left. He had to prove that even as a human he wouldn't slow Shiro down._

_That meant he might have to kill again. Keith barely managed to unlock the door and jump out before emptying his stomach. Once he was done, he found the now leaky hose and rinsed out his mouth, then crawled back into the car with his brother._

_Exhausted, he fell asleep. In his dreams, he cried the entire time as he stabbed that girl over and over all night._

#

By the time Lance arrived at the scene, the fire team was full swing into its investigation, and the forensic techs were well into gathering evidence. He found Ulaz standing next to a body near the door and stepped up to join him. The man had a serene smile. Disturbing. "Identity?"

Ulaz held up a wallet. "Dr. Kōzō Tahara. I called it in, he's the lone survivor of the first team sent in to investigate the Gate. Coran took some officers to his apartment to check on his daughter, a middle-schooler. The doctor also has an office. I instructed some officers to go there and observe until we arrive."

Grimacing, Lance remembered the last team that was sent to observe. Better get the information he needed and then move on quickly. "When we're done here, join Coran at the apartment until the forensic techs arrive. Stay with Coran for their protection detail and I'll have Thace meet me at the doctor's office."

He activated his radio. "Thace, take a detail and forensics to Dr. Tahara's office, but stay out of sight and observe. Don't engage or enter until I join you. And I need all of you to watch out for the contractor codenamed Luc with his wind slicing abilities. He's likely the one who took out our other people."

"Roger," Thace responded.

"Lieutenant," Coran's voice came over the radio, "the daughter Mai isn't here."

Lance frowned. It made no sense. A middle-schooler not home at this time of night? "Find a photo of her for us to use."

"Roger."

There was a bigger picture they weren't seeing here. He ran through the information he'd been given so far and then turned to the scene itself. His ability to survey it was limited from where they were standing, though, with all of the large containers in the way. "Forensics said there were three bodies?"

"Yes," Ulaz answered. "The other two were badly charred. It may take some doing to identify them."

Lance shuddered. Awful way to go. They already knew the moratorium's ability involved fire, so there was little doubt that she'd been involved here. While the sprinklers probably washed evidence away, they'd also prevented more from being lost to the searing heat of a warehouse fire, so hopefully that worked in their favor.

Now where was the daughter? Was she one of the bodies? He felt sick at the thought. Was she at Dr. Tarah's office? That would be better. Or had someone grabbed her?

Or ... Lance's stomach sank. The doctor was once involved with the Gate. Could _she_ be the moratorium, somehow? Gods, Lance hoped not. Having to take down kids was the worst. Especially when capture was tantamount to a death sentence.

"I'm heading for the doctor's office." Lance fished out his keys. "Keep a protection detail here until they've fully processed the scene. We can't afford to lose anything, or any of our people, to a contractor returning for anything."

"Got it." Ulaz turned to him. "And be careful."

"I'm always careful." Lance grinned and shot his finger guns, ignoring the detective's quiet groan. He'd loosen Ulaz up eventually.

Probably not, but it was a nice thought.

By the time the sun began to rise they had nothing but dead ends. They hadn't found the doctor's daughter or the moratorium, but in the pictures the girl and the moratorium could be the same. Maybe. The doctor's office was inexplicably filled with books on plants, even though his file said nothing about botany, yet there were no plants to be found.

Without identifications on the burned bodies they couldn't follow any new trails. Throwing his hands in the air in momentary defeat, Lance allowed Coran to supervise the scene -- at his insistence -- and returned to the office. He dialed Otsuka along the way, hoping that she at least had something.

"Otsuka," she answered.

"It's Lieutenant McClain. What does astronomics have for us?"

"During the last surge of activity from the new star, Messier code BK201 twinkled along with it."

Lance wished he was in stand-still traffic so he could bang his head on his steering wheel. With two of the bodies burned by the moratorium, there'd be no knowing if BK201 attacked them and no studying of any wounds to figure out his ability. The doctor had gunshot wounds and some burns from the fire so his injuries seemed accounted for.

Or, BK201 may have had nothing to do with him at all. That contractor may have been on an entirely different assignment.

Lance crossed his fingers. Hopefully there was _something_ in the warehouse that would give them something new.

"Something odd happened at the end of the activity, though ..." Otsuka's voice started pitching up in excitement.

"What?" Lance prayed it was something useful.

"The spectrums emitted from the new star changed. It stopped registering as a moratorium but it hasn't fallen. Somehow it now registers as a contractor."

Lance blinked, nearly slamming on the breaks in the middle of the highway. "What? How?"

"We don't know! This phenomenon has never been observed before."

He stopped at a light and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess that's great for the city. No more uncontrolled firestorms erupting."

When Lance pulled in to his parking spot at headquarters, he paused to gather himself. He couldn't get the doctor's face out of his head. Why was the man so peacefully smiling while shot and in the middle of a burning building?

Far too tired to make heads or tails of things, Lance admitted to himself that it was time to get his paperwork done at record speed, and then go home and crash. He'd have to make sure that both Ulaz and Coran went to bed as well. Let the others take care of the grunt work. His team needed to rest before the next contractor clusterfuck erupted.

One way or another they'd find the daughter, or find out what happened to her. He couldn't stomach letting kids remain missing. Then, he'd study the data with astronomics and see what more he could find. Maybe he'd get lucky and find BK201 in the process.

That was another mystery that definitely needed solving.


End file.
